I have just started my PhD - I work full time at another university with a 2 1/2 - 3 hour round trip commute (by car so can't even read on the bus/train) each day (can do it in an hour each way but only at 2 in the morning) and I have two youngish (11&9) children and a (very understanding but occasionally understandably grumpy) husband. 

It is hard - REALLY hard - I find deadlines are the biggest motivator (but self imposed ones don't really work for me). Not sure what the answer is but spare time is a thing of the past - in my case the house is a mess (I am ashamed to answer the door to surprised visitors) and going out is a thing of the past.  Just keep in there - if you had funding you must be nearing the home straight now?

Thanks for the offer Wally - shortage of books is not the main issue - it's having the time to read and digest them and get the methodology into a few hundred words (when I really am not sure of the specifics until I do some more literature and some investigations) - oh and do it all before 31/3 because the chair of the research committee is going away.

I've had a skim of some books and put some buzz words like "furthermore methodological triangulation will be utilised to validate findings from covert ethnographic observation of visitor interaction with interpretation and subsequent semi-structured interview" in to the methodology (which I have expanded a bit).  Fingers crossed they will accept it.

Am really not sure I can write in academese though. I'm more of a straight forward "don't use 5 words / syllables when one will do kinda girl" (who am I kidding - middle-aged rapidly heading towards old age woman) - guess I am goign to have to get more used to it though.

Thanks for the offer - sometimes it helps to know someone is rooting for you.

Hi
I submitted my (limited to 2 pages) formal proposal PhD (part-time) to the Research Committee a couple of months ago - it didn't pass but the changes are minor so it will go through on chair's action. I met a couple of weeks ago with the independent scrutinizer and he has given me some feedback, my supervisors feel that it is only a few hours work to make the changes. But I just can't do it - I keep looking at it and then find something else (like marking first year undergrad essays) to do.
There is no problem with my subject and the justification was apparently very good. My problem is with my methodology which comes down at the end of the day to my not yet knowing what I will do - I have argued (and supervisors agreed but said you still have to do it) that how can I specify a methodology when I have only just started to engage with the literature and I have had no research training since my MSc (at the same uni but almost entirely focussed on SPSS). I will definitely be doing some qual (observations) and interviews and maybe some quant (to determine who the visitors are) so mixed methods but beyond that I really don't know.

What did other people do? My research is on visitor interpretation at geosites so I am looking at visitor motivations, expectations, interactions with interpretation and also doing content analysis on exiting interpretation followed by gap analysis between existing and desired interpretation. I want to do research in US National Parks because they provide more information to visitors but also in the UK because it is more accessible.

I've been told I need to cover:
Research Philosophy
Research Instrument
Population
Locations
Pilot Study.

Can anyone (social science, geography, management) help me please?

Chris
PS My research proposal for my MSc (distinction) was the crappiest mark I got - barely above 50 - so I think in my head I have decided I can't do research proposals :-(

Well I am at the other end of things than most of you guys. I graduated before many (most) of you were born and did what everyone with an economics degree did in the 80s - went into finance. I fairly soon realised it wasn't for me but it took me 16 years to get out (well the salary did help) during which time I took an MA at Birkbeck (evenings) and had my two children. I realised that I wasn't happy and that I didn't want my obituary to say "Accountant" so I quit, took an MSc with the intention of taking a PhD but funding became an issue. I got a job lecturing and have just (at the age of 44) started my PhD.

My point is that at different times different things are higher priority - those of you who are in your twenties can devote time to your PhDs - I am finding little bits of time here and there and am having to cut corners as I go - I would love the luxury of going off to investigate areas which may turn out to be dead ends. You still have plenty of time to find someone, fall in love, have babies. I met my husband when I was 27, we lost 2 pregnancies and finally had our first when I was nearly 33 and our second when I was nearly 35. If you are in your early twenties, enjoy it, don't get fixated on the future.

At the moment I feel that I am not being a good enough Mum (what with working full time with a two and a half hour round trip commute by car, and the PhD) and am not being a good enough PhD student. An example is holidays which have to be planned to incorporate my research - as one of my (part-time PhD student but with much older children) friends said "I can't believe you are dragging the children round national parks for a holiday while you do PhD research".

Listen to your heart it will tell you what you should do (but your head might tell you to wait a while).

Depends what you want to do with them - as far as many professional qualifications are concerned A levels are a much better indicator of success than degree.

As far as degree classifications are concerned - depends largely on the subject and where you did it - the Times Higher this week quotes someone (can't remember who) saying that a 2.1 degree in Particle Physics from University A is worth more than a first in Leisure Management from University B (and I write this as someone who teaches leisure management (among other subjects) - mind you my first degree was in Eocnomics

Hi Maya
I think it would be a good idea to talk to one of the recruitment consultants for the type of jobs you are looking for - many companies use these to undertake the shortlisting for them - they can give you good advice on your cv, interview practice and so on. They have permanent and temporary posts and the best bit is that their services are free to the candidate - they are paid by the employer.
Good Luck

Chris

It may be (as in many academic positions) that the interviewer knew the other candidate and her work - in many cases it is who you know and positions are already sorted before the interviews take place (it has happened to me several times - once where I got the job despite the other candidates being further advanced with their research (not very proud of that but in my defence I was doing the job on a temporary part-time basis)and once where the job already had someone else's name on it).
Did you contact the people in advance - when I worked in industry for internal jobs there was an unwritten rule that if you hadn't phoned up in advance of the application you didn't get an interview at all.  It is worth making contact prior to the application - just phone up and ask for some more detail on some aspect that interests you - then they will remember you and hopefully it will have your name on it next time.

It depends - some universities employ PhD students as teaching assistants to supplement their funding or in some cases it is a way to gain some experiecne before trying to get a permanenet leacturing post (which in my cases worked out). The hourly rate is v good (around £40 per hour of teaching) but that covers you for prep and marking so in reality works out much less for the hours you put in.

I don't think under UK legislation you can strike if you are not in the union that has taken action - this would be classed at unofficial action.

Advice on the law can be found at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/TradeUnions/DG_10027549

If you don't want to cross the line then as has been suggested work from home if you are permitted to do so or go into work really early - when I was a sessional lecturer and not in the union during the strike action 4 years ago I got into work very early to make sure I was in before the pickets arrived.

No it isn't just your uni - and here is my version: I take second year under grads to Barcelona on fieldwork staying in a three star (ie not totally crap and actually very nice) hotel.  A group of undergrad girls used to come down to breakfast in their pyjamas & slippers (complete with makeup, straightened hair) - when I asked them not to because some people (I didn't say it was me) found it offensive they were very indignant and said their was nothing wrong with it and it was quite normal in Liverpool. The really ridiculous thing is that these were special pyjamas for breakfast as when I had to go into their room to wake them at 10 on the last day (when we should have left at 9.30) they were wearing sleeping clothes.  So they had sleeping clothes, breakfast pyjamas (which were rolled down so they hardly covered what my grannie would have called their modesty) and then they changed into going out for the day clothes (plus presumably they brought going out at night clothes). Needless to say uggs, leggings and cropped tops featured and sensible (for fieldwork) shoes and rucksacks did not!

Well I have just given one of them the shock of her life by phoning her to day I was sending comments on the first 2 chapters for her to start working on tonight (for 8am meeting tomorrow) and would send the rest later.  To be fair she said she really appreciates all the help I have given her (which to be honest has not been nearly as much as some wastrels I've had in previous years) - she's done an interesting topic (Social Identity as a Motivation for Mountaineers) which the Head of Department poopooed as he said no one would be interviewed by her , she wasn't up to it etc - as it is she's got 8 great interviews including one from a really famous female mountaineer I heard on Radio 4 and told her about (she tracked her down, contacted her and interviewed her by telephone (as she is based overseas)) and she has done some good analysis as well.

It's things like this that make the job worthwhile (not if only I could get rid of all the requests for extensions due to dead cats, neighbours being ill, burglaries, damaged pen drives (that has got to be the 21st C equivalent of the dog ate my homework)...)

Well I am sitting here at 8pm with final (?) undergrad dissertation drafts to go through (due in on Thursday) and I am meeting the first student at 8am (and I live more than an hour away from uni)

Suddenly I feel much more sympathy for all of our supervisors - at least those I have to read are only 8000 words.

Another update
amazon has the student version http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindjet-MindManager-Education-PC-CD/dp/B001LK7DKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1268734836&sr=1-1 for £63 for educational users. I tried to buy the upgrade from the other site but it doens't seem to be working.

The best place to look is on the mindjet website as that gives info on what you get / what it can do. It doesn't do pictures as well as the Tony Buzan one seems to do but I'm not sure how useful pictures are.

Prompt response is because looking at the forum is preferable to revising my methodology (in theory today is a research day) or marking first year undergrad essays)!!

My husband has just found a site called www.studentexpressware.co.uk which has mindjet for £58 or £34 for an upgrade from a previous version which I think I am going to invest in.